I was recently asked to blog about my 5 Greatest Artistic Influences.  Well, I decided to tweak the idea just a bit, to make it my 5 Greatest Contemporary Art Influences.  So, here we go.

Jenny Saville

This should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone who has seen my work.  Jenny is usually listed as an inspiration for almost, if not all, figurative artists working today.  Jenny shows bodies beyond the “Rubanesque”. She shows women of substance, often exaggerating the flesh. She contronts the viewer with what society considers ugly and unattractive, and she paints in such a way that the images appear macabre but enthralling. I want to discover every crevice of flesh, every stroke of paint. Her technique is that she actually paints WITH flesh, rather then illustrating it, and often with seemingly violent application. These are not dainty porcelain girls, they are provocative and powerful images of women.

Spencer Tunick

I first came across Spencer Tunick’s work while watching the documentary “The Naked States” (you can, and should, watch this on Netflix Instant).  When he started working with large groups of nude volunteer models in public spaces he got a lot of mixed reactions–some trepidation or jubilation from models, and a few arrests from your friendly neighborhood po-po.  As a young artist I admired his vision and daring.  As the projects grew as did the amount of people willing to model and all the sudden to see THOUSANDS of people pictured in these landscapes.  For me it is such a strange and jarring juxtaposition, yet completely fascinating.  The landscape always looks like it is waiting to exhale a breath, and the forms cease to be separate organisms and seemingly become one.  I love the idea of the human body becoming something…else.

Takashi Murakami

First introduced to him by my amazing friend and former studio-mate, Jesse, at first I thought this was the typical anime fluff, that is until you look closer and realize he is blurring the line between high and low art.  Bold colors and a clean yet cha0tic design aesthetic are juxtaposed against themes of post war (post atomic bomb) Japan, and in many of his work the hyper-sexuality prevalent in a lot of Japanese Anime.  I admire how he works both ends of the art work, the museum and galleries (high end) with the general stores with plush toys, etc (low end).  Mostly, what draws me to his work is the combination of pain and gloss, traditional Japanese culture elements with those of current pop-culture, and of horror masked by over-beautification.

Christian Boltanski

Boltanski makes artwork about death.  He utilizes found objects and images from the Holocaust, photography, lights, installation, sound, and other non-traditional mediums.  The work is cold. Dead.  Filled with tragedy.  I wish I could see more of it live, and entire installation.  Standing in front of his pieces is almost eerie and quiet.  There is a realization that you too will leave things behind.  Things that will long out live you.  It’s rather unnerving and yet inspiring for me.

JR

JR is a graffiti artist.  I was fortunate to come across his work in an issue of “Hi Fructose” Magazine. I have always enjoyed street art, even if I am total crap at making it myself.  All of you should check out “Welcome to the Gift Shop” which was produced by Banksy, another graffiti artist (also not Netflix Instant).  What stood out to me, with JR, was that he was a PHOTOGRAPHIC graffiti artist.  He goes to poor cities and takes pictures of the people who live there.  And then he installs enormous pictures of those people through out the world.  The reflection is one of sadness, joy, love, pain.  Their faces are literally in your face.  I love the idea of taking “fine art” quality photographs and posting them in cities, either their own or ones thousands of miles away on such a massive scale.  JR’s work combines art and action and deals with commitment, freedom, identity and limits.  Also unique for someone so critically acclaimed, JR stays anonymous.